The Blitzboks will face England in the Cup quarter-finals of the London Sevens after suffering a 24-12 defeat against the USA in their final pool game on Saturday.

The two teams had qualified for the Cup quarters before the match, but the result determined the pool winner. In the end, the Americans had too much in the tank for the Blitzboks.

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Tries by Stephen Thomasin and Ben Pinkelman gave the USA a 12-7 lead at the break. Ruhan Nel scored the Blitzboks’ try when he chipped the ball over the top and ran hard to regather it.

After Siviwe Soyizwapi scored early in the second half to level the scores at 12-12, the USA responded with two tries by veterans Perry Baker and Andrew Durutalo.

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As the referee called time on the game, Branco du Preez dropped to the ground in agony with what looked like a knee injury. Coach Neil Powell will be more worried about the extent of Du Preez’s injury than the result of this match.

Cup quarter-finals (SA time):

11:58: USA vs Australia
12:20: New Zealand vs Scotland
12:42: England vs South Africa
13:04: Argentina vs Canada

All the London Sevens fixtures and results

Photo: Blitzboks/Twitter/HSBC